Outline of my presentation at Georgia Information Literacy.

1. GREEN, GOLD, UNCLE
SAM, AND
INFORMATION LITERACY
S E T H M . P O R T E R M A , M L I S

5. Green &
Gold

7. Green
• OA repositories can be organized by discipline (e.g.
arXiv for physics) or institution (e.g. DASH for Harvard).
When universities host OA repositories, they usually take
steps to ensure long-term preservation in addition to OA.
• OA repositories do not perform peer review themselves.
However, they generally host articles peer-reviewed
elsewhere.
• OA repositories can contain preprints, postprints, or
both.
• A preprint is any version prior to peer review and
publication, usually the version submitted to a journal.
• OA repositories can include preprints and postprints of
journal articles, theses and dissertations, course materials,
departmental databases, data files, audio and video files,
institutional records, or digitized special collections from
the library. Estimates of the costs of running a repository
depend critically on how many different functions they
take on. If the average cost of an institutional repository
is now high, it's because the average institutional
repository now does much more than merely provide OA
to deposited articles.
Gold
• OA journals conduct peer review.
• OA journals find it easier than non-OA journals to let
authors retain copyright.
• OA journals find it easier than OA repositories to provide
libre OA. OA repositories cannot usually generate
permission for libre OA on their own. But OA journals can.
• Some OA journal publishers are non-profit (e.g. Public
Library of Science or PLoS) and some are for-profit (e.g.
BioMed Central or BMC).
• OA journals pay their bills very much the way broadcast
television and radio stations do: those with an interest in
disseminating the content pay the production costs upfront
so that access can be free of charge for everyone with the
right equipment. Sometimes this means that journals have a
subsidy from a university or professional society. Sometimes
it means that journals charge a publication fee on accepted
articles, to be paid by the author or the author's sponsor
(employer, funding agency). OA journals that charge
publication fees usually waive them in cases of economic
hardship. OA journals with institutional subsidies tend to
charge no publcation fees. OA journals can get by on lower

8. •AgEcon: Agriculture and Applied Economics
•Astrophysics Data System - Astrophysics
•ArXiv - Physics
•CiteSeer - Computer and Information Science
•Dryad - Biosciences
•Econstor - Economics and Business Studies
•PhilPapers - Philosophy
•PubMed - Medicine
•RePEc - Economics
•Social Science Research Network - Social Sciences

9. Example Exercise
1. Each student will retrieve an assignment
related refereed article from a relevant subject
repository.
2. The student will analyze each article research
methodology, journal published, and CRAAP.
3. The student will cross reference findings with
bibliometrics of journal originally published in.
5. Discuss findings.
6. Student will use Green OA article in research
assignment if it is high quality research

11. • DOAJ: https://doaj.org/
• PLOS: https://www.plos.org/
• Journal of Global Economics:
http://www.esciencecentral.org/journals/global-
economics.php
• Biology and Medicine:
http://www.omicsonline.com/open-access/biology-and-
medicine.php
• Journal of Socialomics:
http://www.omicsgroup.org/journals/socialomics.php
• Journal of Plant Biochemistry & Physiology:

12. Example Exercise
1. Each student will retrieve an assignment
related refereed article from a relevant OA
journal.
2. The student will analyze each article research
methodology, journal published, and CRAAP.
3. The student will cross reference findings with
bibliometrics of journal originally published in.
5. Discuss findings.
6. Student will use Gold OA article in research
assignment if it is high quality research.

13. Government
Information

18. “

20. Government Documents &
Information
• The United States Government Publishing Office is the largest publisher in
the world, in both the number and variety of its publications. Government
documents record the activities of the agencies, offices, bureaus and
departments of the federal government. They include Congressional
hearings, reports and documents; and the publications of presidential task
forces and specially appointed commissions.
• Government documents are a great source of information about all aspects
of public policy, from business, communications, and defense to health,
education, and social welfare. They also contain statistical information of all
kinds. Anyone interested in current topics such as family violence, aging,
immigration, trade, employment, hazardous wastes, or business development
may find helpful material in U.S. Government publications.

21.  U.S. Census: http://www.census.gov/
 American Fact Finder:
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xh
tml
 Quick Facts: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html
 FedStats: http://fedstats.sites.usa.gov/
 CIA World FactBook:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/
 Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://bjs.gov/
 Survey of Current Business (Bureau of Economic
Analysis): http://www.bea.gov/
 Catalog of US Government Publications:
http://catalog.gpo.gov/F?RN=412937073
 National Center for Science & Engineering Statistics:
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
 FDLP: http://www.fdlp.gov/
 GPO: http://www.gpo.gov/
 Data.Gov: https://www.data.gov/
 USA.Gov: http://www.usa.gov/
 White House.Gov:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
 National Center for Health Statistics:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
 Department of Defense: http://www.defense.gov/
 Library of Congress:
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php
 National Security Archive: http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
 Defense Industry information: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/
 Department of Energy Database:
https://www.osti.gov/opennet/
 NASA STI: http://www.sti.nasa.gov/
 Energy Information Administration: http://www.eia.gov/
 SEC Edgar:
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml#.VBiHOWMmWf4
 Historical Census Browser :
http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
 Social Security: http://www.ssa.gov/
 Agriculture statistics: http://www.nass.usda.gov/
 USDA Economic Research Service ERS:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/
 Education Statistics: http://nces.ed.gov/
 Bureau of Justice: http://bjs.gov/
 Bureau of Transportation:
http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/node/11792
 State of the USA: http://www.stateoftheusa.org/

22. Example Exercise
1. Each student will retrieve an assignment related policy
report, data set, government document, congressional
report.
2. The student will analyze each article for relevant
information
3. Discuss findings.
4. Student will use the Government Information in
research assignment if it is high quality research.

24. “Think tanks are public policy research analysis and engagement
organizations that generate Policy oriented research, analysis, and advice
on domestic and international issues, Thereby enabling policymakers and
the public to make informed decisions about public policy. Think tanks may
be affiliated or independent institutions that are structured as permanent
bodies, not ad hoc commissions. These institutions often act as a
bridge between the academic and policymaking communities and between
states and civil society, serving in the public interest as independent voices
that translate applied and basic research into a language that is
understandable, reliable, and accessible for policy makers and the public.”
McGann, James G. "2013 Global Go to Think Tanks Index Report." (2013).

25. • An organization or institution that conducts research and
engages in advocacy in policy, politics, economics, science,
business and more.
• Many are non-profit, government funded, advocacy based, or
business orientated.
• Many are issue focused and are lobbying tools.
• Think Tanks study and write policy, provide expert research
and advice on Capital Hill.
• Often the experts you see testifying are think tank staff
members and researchers
• Think Tank studies are some of the most cited research
What is a Think Tank?

27. • They are a bridge of knowledge between academia and power
players.
• They are an open source, freely accessible, authoritative—
some, we will get to that in a bit— research resource.
• Students can access this information after graduation.
• Power players are using this information and resource to
create policy that impacts your life, and if you are a scholar
your data.
• An exercise in analysis of political bias, social bias, economic
bias, and more.
Why do they matter to
research?

28. There are many great Think Tanks.
A great Think Tank is non-partisan—as possible—intellectually
endowed, research focused, policy aware, politically relevant.
How do you know which is which?
• Analyze funding, language, research outcomes, and look out
for bias and outrageous language. But if that is not enough…..
• A great tool to teach students how to use information literacy
concepts in academic research through think-tank policy
proposals.
• There are also tools to help in source analysis.

29. There are many studies that rank the best Think Tanks in the world by
Citation count, survey’s, funding, and more.
• University of Pennsylvania:
http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=think_tanks
• Think Tank Funding & Transparency:
http://static.squarespace.com/static/52e1f399e4b06a94c0cdaa41/t/536a108ee4b0e77a
5729562c/1399459982820/How%20Transparent%20are%20Think%20Tanks%20%28T
ransparify%2007May2014%29.pdf
• Measuring Think Tank Performance: http://www.cgdev.org/publication/measuring-
think-tank-performance-index-public-profile
Tools

30. 1. Brookings Institute
2. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
3. Center for Strategic and International Studies
4. Council on Foreign Relations
5. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
6. RAND Corporation
7. Pew Research Center
8. CATO Institute
9. Heritage Foundation
10. Center for American Progress
Top 10

31. Example Exercise
1. Each student will retrieve a assignment related policy
proposal from two different think-tanks.
2. The student will analyze each proposal for political
bias, funding, and category of think-tank.
3. The student will cross reference findings with think-tank
ranking/metric tools.
5. Discuss findings.
6. Student will use quality policy proposal in research
assignment if it is free of bias and is from a highly
ranked institution.

32. QUESTIONS?